Frostbite
by DecemberSnowfall
Summary: "You were born to be my wife." He concluded, his green eyes were icy and fierce. "And if I refuse?" My jaw tightened as my heart beat wildly in my chest. "That was never an option for you, Milady." His voice dripped venom and sarcasm, my heart skipped a beat. Marrying a God was never in the plans.
1. Suspicious guys and coffee

When I was little, I never really put a lot of thought into things such as destiny and fate, the things said to rule the entire cosmos. What is said to be, will come to pass as some would say. There are many other words and quotes for it, but all in all, it means the same thing.

Supposedly, everyone who is born already has their destinies pre-written for them. That no matter what they do, it will all come down to certain events that will ultimately define them. Most people do not like to believe in such things, they like to think that their choices are their own, and that each one they make changes where they'll end up, and what they'll end up doing.

As for me? I'm not quite sure what I believe, not now anyways, it's kinda nice to believe that fate has you written in some book to go down in a blaze of glory. Then again, what if that same book has you written down to die choking on a chip on your couch in the middle of Oklahoma?

So yeah, Fate could be cool, but then it could be a rude bastard that wears those thick rimmed glasses, a scarf during summer, loafers without socks, and drinks espresso while blogging and thinks he's the shit. Not to say that those qualities are necessarily a bad thing, they just might be if Fate is really a dude with a bad sense of humor and is writing down your destiny while having a shit day and some guy just flipped him off.

Or maybe I'm just very judgmental about the guy sitting diagonally across from me in Starbucks who's typing suspiciously and looking up every few minutes. I narrowed my eyes at him, slowly taking a sip out of whatever was ordered for me. Did I mention I don't like coffee? Every time I tell people I feel like it makes me see sounds, they laugh awkwardly at me and advert their gaze. Why is it a crime to not like a caffeinated beverage in society these days?

My name is Rowan Blackwood, twenty years old, writing amateur and drawing and gymnastic extraordinaire. I like bugs, and pretty much all things nature. Swimming is pretty fun, and I think coffee is stupid, obviously. I wear a blue ribbon on my pointer finger, and I've been told I'm sarcastic and a little weird. I moved to San Diego when I was seven, we had previously lived in Sweden, which is where I was born, but mom decided we needed a change and uprooted us to the states. I haven't officially gotten rid of my accent, but people seem to like it, so I'm not too concerned with it.

My mother tells me I look like my father with my long, unruly, curly red hair, and bright blue eyes. Though, I've never met the man, I wonder if he's short? Mom's super tall, and well, I'm not. I'm an impressive five foot five, with a slender but toned body. But seriously, what is that guy writing about as he types furiously away on his sleek, silver laptop?

I heard a sigh, and suddenly fingers were being snapped in my face, startled, I turned my wide eyes to my close friend, Serena, she had those same thick rimmed glasses on her pale face as the guy I had previously been glaring at. She huffed, the action causing her blonde fringe to lift up away from her forehead, her hazel eyes were annoyed.

"Earth to Rowan! The conversation is down here, on earth, sorry to interrupt your intergalactic mission." Obviously, I was rubbing off on her, that was pure sarcasm. A little rude though, an intergalactic mission would be cool.

"Sorry, what?" I asked after another moment. She sighed this time, and twirled her finger around the cup holding the vile liquid she insisted on buying everyday with me.

"I was asking what your mom said about vacationing with me and the family in Madrid." I frowned. Oh, that topic. She picked up on my expression almost immediately. "She said no?" She was surprised. Like I had been when I received the answer. "But your mom always says yes, every year!" I nodded.

"I know, but she said this year it wouldn't be possible, and that I had to stay home. She gave no more information on the matter." Her expression mirrored my own, complete and utter disappointment.

"That's seriously lame," She paused. "And weird." I nodded in agreement. My gaze slowly shifted away from her and her fidgeting to the guy typing on his laptop, he now sported a smug smirk. What did he have to be smug about?

"What do you think that guy's typing about?" I asked her after a moment. As if he sensed I was looking at him, he looked up and glared at me, the light catching his glasses. She whipped her head to see where I was staring, not backing down from his glaring challenge. She groaned.

"Seriously, what is with you and that guy? Leave him alone." I slowly turned my gaze away from the guy I was sure was writing everyone's destinies, letting him win this round.

"He's suspicious!" I defended. She shook her head.

"You are paranoid, and impossible!" she declared. My cheek twitched. I was not paranoid, he was honestly suspicious.. I glanced down at the coffee. Stupid caffeine, maybe it was doing this to me, maybe he was just a normal guy? I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced up through my lashes. No, definitely suspicious. Serena sighed and stood up. "Come on, let's go. I have to get home and start packing." I nodded my head and stood up and followed her out. I slowed as we passed the suspicious guy, whose fingers stopped moving across his keyboard as I slowed down next to him, trying to get a peak at what was written across the bright screen.

He slowly lowered the screen a little bit so I could only see the glare of the light, I huffed and quickened my pace, following Serena out the door and onto the sun lit street. It was very warm for a San Diego Thursday in the middle of June. I was sporting jean shorts and white and black stripped tank top with some sandals.

"When do you leave for Madrid?" I questioned once I had caught up with Serena. She shrugged her shoulders as we crossed the street.

"This weekend, I think." I hummed my acknowledgment.

"Plenty of pictures?" I asked with a new bounce in my step. She laughed.

"Of course, I'll also make sure to check out the bug life and send you plenty of texts about them." I grinned at her. She was the best. I always enjoyed traveling, adventures were fun. As we passed another street, there were some rambunctious teens chatting and walking away from us. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand on end. My stomach tightened in anxiety. I slowed to a stop, wind was whipping at my hair. Serena hadn't noticed I was no longer walking at her side as she continued down the sidewalk, looking at her phone and talking animatedly. I slowly turned my head, trying to find whatever was bothering me, my heartbeat picked up.

A man stood across the way, too far away to see properly, but from what I could tell, he was dressed nicely, too nicely. His long black hair was slicked back, and he was staring directly at me, not moving an inch as the cars zoomed past his position on the sidewalk. It was eerie, and he was most certainly frightening, but oddly familiar. A bus rolled by, blocking his tall form from my vision. I squinted angrily at having my sight cut off. I waited impatiently as it finished rolling by, but he wasn't there anymore. The sidewalk was clear, that whole street was. Where had he gone? I made a note that all of the tension had left my body, and I was once again, calm.

What's with all the suspicious guys today? Maybe it was the caffeine after all?

* * *

So here it is, proof I have not vanished! I figured documentation would be the only proof you guys would believe that I haven't abandoned you all. So, I decided to write a new story about a very, very attractive god of mischief and lies. I hope you all enjoy this first chapter, I quite like it myself. Read and Review!


	2. Mind Games and Snakes

When I got home, my mind was consumed with thoughts of the unknown man, and how just his silhouette struck a chord of familiarity inside me. My eyebrows furrowed as I shut the front door behind me, I chewed on my bottom lip lightly as I walked into the kitchen where I heard my mother moving about.

"Hey mom." I said lightly as I moved to one of the stools on the island counter. Her body visibly jumped and she flipped around wide-eyed.

"Rowan sweetie, you startled me." She looked paler than usual, her curly blonde hair hanging limp around her face. She wasn't even wearing make up today. I frowned lightly, that was unusual.

"Sorry, I thought you would have heard me come in." I said lightly pointing out of the room towards the front door. She just smiled weakly.

"I have a lot on my mind." She said quietly. A knot twisted in my stomach. My mother was a fierce woman, and she had been that way for as long as I could remember. To see her frazzled like this, was concerning, it brought a sense of impending doom into the room, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Care to talk about it?" I asked softly, hoping not to make her jump again as she continued to wonder around the kitchen and prepare dinner.

"Never you mind sweetie." She looked up at me, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her lips trembled a little. I got off of the stool and stepped around the counter towards her.

"Mom, seriously.. what's going on?" I questioned on a shaky breath. She was scaring me. She smiled bigger this time and cleared her throat.

"Dinner will be ready soon, how about you go wash up and get into some comfy pajamas! I rented a few movies for us to watch with dinner." My eyebrow arched up at that. Mom only let us eat in the living room for dinner on special occasions. But the way she turned her back on me after she said that, I knew it was best not to continue to ask her what was wrong. Instead, I exited the kitchen and headed up towards my room.

My shower was relaxing to say the least, the hot water eased all the tension out of my body. Any thoughts of the suspicious guy typing on his laptop or the strange man staring at me from across the street had swirled down the drain with the water. Now I stood brushing my teeth in the mirror of my bathroom, my eyes slowly inspecting my reflection as I swirled the frothy foam across my teeth. I spit out the toothpaste in my mouth and as I went to put the toothbrush back into my mouth, my reflection in the mirror glinted like it had moved a direction I hadn't.

I froze and slowly glanced up, but it wasn't my reflection I was seeing anymore. It was a man, and not just any man. It was the same man from across the street earlier, his black hair slicked back, his green eyes intense and full of mischief. But as quick as it was there, it wasn't. However, that didn't stop the scream that tore through my throat as I dropped the toothbrush in the sink and flew back away from the mirror. My reflection mirrored me, my face was frightened and pale.

The door about flew off its hinges as it flew open, my wide eyes quickly turned to look at my frantic mother in the door way, her breath was coming out in quick pants and her eyes were scanning everything in the bathroom before she finally zeroed in on me standing all by myself dressed cozily in my pajamas.

"Rowan, what's the matter? I heard you scream, are you alright?" Once again, I watched her eyes, this time slowly, rotate around the room, checking every corner before moving on.

"I saw- " What had I seen? A strange man twice today, both times he had disappeared before I could really see him, it had only been glimpses.. She would never believe me. She would think I was crazy, or on drugs. No, I couldn't tell her. I swallowed thickly, my tongue felt heavy in my mouth as the weight of my now decided secret began to weigh down on me.

"I almost slipped on some water that I apparently dripped onto the floor when getting out of the shower." I paused and let that sink in for a moment. Mom narrowed her eyes lightly, clearly she didn't believe me. "You know how I am, I always forget to dry off the floor." I laughed nervously and took a step towards her. "Sorry that I scared you, I just startled myself is all." She watched me for a moment longer before she slowly nodded her head.

"That's okay darling, just be careful, we don't need you getting hurt now do we?" A small smile played on her lips and I laughed and nodded. It seems for now, she decided to play along with my lie instead of calling me out on it.

"Yes, no hospital visits for this girl." I walked over to her and smiled weakly again as I did my best to banish the image of the man from my mind. It was just a trick of the mind, I told myself. It's has to be all that caffeine Serena has insisted I have.

"Dinner's done, are you ready to come down?" She asked quietly, this time it seemed as if she was trying not to startle me. I nodded my head lightly, my damp curls bounced slightly with movement. I could feel my body shake as I imagined those vibrant green eyes staring at me, I took a slow deep breath.

"Yeah of course!" I plastered a fake smile on my face, willing myself to forget what I had seen, after all, it had only been my paranoid imagination.

Dinner with Mom was amazing and delicious as always, we ended up watching several romantic comedies before we decided it was time to head to bed. We both slowed down when we got to the top of the stairs, Mom looked worried once again she was glancing around as if she expected something to jump out at her at any moment and yell 'boo!'

"Mom?" I questioned softly. She shook her and smiled, seemingly not finding what she was looking for. She pulled me into a hug and I slowly wrapped my arms around her.

"Sleep well sweetie." She rested her chin on top of my head and took a deep breath. I hugged her tighter.

"Night mom." I pulled away from her and headed into my room, I turned to shut the door and I could still see her wavering at the top of the stairs before she finally smiled slightly once more and headed to her room. My stomach filled with a horrible feeling as I watched her shut her door. Swallowing thickly, I shut mine.

Morning came far too soon, the dark circles under my eyes were the evidence that I hadn't slept very well at all. My dreams had been plagued by a mischievous smile and hauntingly beautiful green eyes. If I thought hard enough, I could still hear his laugh. I really was going crazy I thought bitterly. My mind was being taken over by a man who only existed in my imagination and dreams.

Pulling myself out of the bed I managed to change into a pair of black shorts and a white tank top before my phone rang. Frowning, I walked over to my nightstand where I left it. The caller ID read Serena, that instantly brought a smile to my face.

"Hey girly!" She greeted as I answered and brought the phone up to my ear. I sighed in contentment, this was normal, no green eyes in sight.

"Hey Serena, how goes getting ready for your trip?" I could almost hear her frowning over the phone as I worked on tying my same blue ribbon on my pointer finger, which is very hard to do by yourself I might add.

"Not nearly the same without you." She sighed dramatically. "I still wish you were going."

"I know, I know. But maybe it's a good thing?" She scoffed.

"How in the world could this be a good thing?!" I was quiet for a second as I envisioned his tall form in my mind.

Because you don't need my brand of crazy on your vacation I thought sadly.

"I have no idea!" I laughed suddenly, it was fake and forced, but she bought it and she broke out laughing too.

"Deep Rowan, real deep." I got up from my bed and headed over to my window overlooking the front yard. "And here I thought you were going to say something mature or witty."

"Just not feeling it today I guess." From the way I was standing and the light was shining, my reflection was staring back at me. The lack of sleep was more clear than I thought, I cringed at my image. I was so absorbed in how utterly exhausted I looked I wasn't really listening to Serena talk about what she was packing at that moment.

"Rowan, are you even listening to me?" She sighed. I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Oh umm," I trailed off as I felt a weight come down on my left shoulder, like a male hand just resting there. My insides turned cold as I slowly glanced back up in front of me at the window. The shriek tore through my throat before I could help it. _He_ was standing behind me, a smirk playing on his lips. The phone slipped from my fingers and hit the floor, I could faintly hear Serena yelling as I spun around to face him. How had he gotten into my room?!

_But there was nothing._

_No one was there._

Unshed tears filled my eyes and I reached out towards where he had been standing, my fingers just ghosted through the air. My heart rate was still thumping wildly in my chest as I lightly closed my eyes for a second. I took a deep breath and sunk down to my knees to grab my cell phone.

"Sorry about that." I said shakily. Serena was nearly having a panic attack.

"Are you okay?!" She stuttered. "I was seriously about to call 911, I thought an ax murderer had broken into your house or something!" I didn't smile.

"I think I've watched too much TV." I laughed shakily. "I thought I saw something, but it was just my imagination playing tricks on me." My stomach knotted once more as my heart rate finally started to slow down, I furrowed my eyebrows as I let my fingers idly play with he carpet underneath me.

"Too much Supernatural?" She joked, trying to the lighten the mood. I laughed nervously.

"Guess so." It was quiet for a few moment before she cleared her throat.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're acting really weird today. You're even kind of quiet, even before the mind trick thing." I sighed.

"I didn't get much sleep." I admitted.

"Dangit, this is my fault isn't it?" My face contorted into a confused expression.

"What?"

"You know, I feed you too much coffee!" I started laughing at that, actually laughing, not in any way forced. It was like my worries just melted from me with that laughter. "You're always telling people you see sounds when you drink it, and maybe that's it! Maybe like, a spider is crawling around in your room, and the noise of it walking made you see something."

"Serena, I don't think my hearing is good enough for me to hear a spider walking around." She sighed.

"You're right, if it was, you would have caught it already and named the damn thing." I snorted. I heard faint yelling on her side of the call. "Oh hey, I gotta' go!" She didn't even give me time to say goodbye before the call ended. I shook my head while smiling and got up and set my phone back on my nightstand.

Despite Serena's jokes making me feel better, I couldn't help myself as my eyes searched across the room for something I knew wouldn't be there. I felt paranoid and unsure, as if I was being watched.

I wondered briefly why Mom hadn't come running when I shrieked, but at the same time I was thankful. Perhaps she wasn't home? The more I thought about it, the better that seemed. It was best mom didn't know about another one of my freak outs. I had to keep them under control. The last thing I wanted was to find myself in a nice white padded room, hugging myself.

The doorbell is what pulled me out of my thoughts this time, and my body froze once more. No, no, I'm being silly, there's no reason the guy I'm imagining would use the front door now. After all, he was only that, my imagination playing tricks on me.

When I made it downstairs to answer the door, no one was there. The only thing unusual was a black box topped with a gold bow sitting in front of the door. I frowned and tilted my head to the side. My eyes scanned up and down the sidewalks in front of the house next, there were a few people wandering about on this bright and sunny day, but no one was even glancing in my direction.

Finally I reached down and carefully took the box into my hands before retreating back into the house. This time, I made sure to lock the door behind me.

And now here I sat, on my bed, just staring at the black box that I had yet to open. It wasn't packaged right to have come in the mail, so it had to have been hand delivered right, but from who?

The small card attached to it was plain and ivory colored. It only had one word on it, my name. It was handwritten, and whoever had written it had beautiful out of this world handwriting. I was a bit envious as I stared at the effortlessly beautiful inked word.

Okay Rowan, stop being such a sissy and open the damn box. My hands trembled as I pulled off the top of the box, but if I thought I was nervous before, nothing compared to how I felt at the contents of the box. I wanted to slam the lid back on it and set it back outside. This could not possibly be for me. There had to be some kind of mistake.

Inside sat a beautiful necklace. The style was that of a choker, the part that wrapped around the neck was a beautiful gleaming gold Ouroboros, the gems that decorated the eyes were a haunting black. Dangling down where mouth met tail was a big emerald surrounded by carefully carefully placed gold wire. It wound around it like a cage.

I slowly picked it up and examined it. It seemed the snake broke apart in the middle to clasp at the beck of the neck, I slid my fingers across it, and found that it was cold to the touch. I couldn't help but keep staring at it, it was simply beautiful.

But who had sent it? I knew no one that could afford something like this.

My eyes flickered back to the box to see another plain, ivory card sitting in the bottom. I set the necklace carefully down onto my bed and picked up the card. This time, three beautiful hand written words greeted me.

_Happy late Birthday._

For some reason, these words seemed more like a death sentence than that of celebration.

Carefully, but hurriedly, I put the necklace back in the box along with the card and shut the lid on the ominous gift. I looked around as to where to put it and decided underneath my pillows would be good enough for now, so that's what I did.

Sighing I gazed around my room. Now what? For a supposedly fun summer, this was turning out to be a very, very lame day. All I had managed to accomplish today was scare myself silly. Okay, I got this, I just need to do normal activities, that will keep my mind clear and off of things they should not be on. I am not insane, I have just had too much caffeine lately, and not enough sleep. Drawing! Yes, drawing will be good, drawing is normal for me.

Gathering all of my supplies I set myself up to draw for the rest of the morning while reclining against my pillows. For the next several hours, I cleared my mind and let my pencil guide itself across the paper, etching hard lines and soft shades.

Before I had noticed, I had fallen asleep. My drawing pad leaning against my chest, my pencil still hanging limply in my hand. If I had been awake, maybe I would have noticed something _slithering_ underneath my pillow.

* * *

Alright, here it is, chapter two! I hope you all enjoyed it. As usual, sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes. I'm dealing with a really bad case of writers block, I'm sure a lot of you have noticed I haven't been updating in a very, very long time. But here I am, trying to change all that, so I might be a little rusty at this whole writing thing. Anyway, I hope despite all of that you enjoyed the chapter.

Thank you all for your continued support and patience as I work through my writers block, and I hope I did a decent job at bringing you an update!

**Read and Review!**

Also on a side note, if there's anyone that doesn't know what an Ouroboros is it's a a serpent or dragon eating it's own tail. It an ancient symbol that generally means a cycle that begins anew as soon as it ends, kind of like the Phoenix.


End file.
